Edward g



May 26, 1972.5. `l,539,621

E. G. ACKER CIRCUIT CONTROLLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 5, 1921 Fit/y1.

ATTORNEY Patented May 26, 1925. A

EDWARD G. nonna, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

CIRCUIT-CONTROLLING DEVICE.

Application filed February 5, 1921. Serial N'o. 442,713.

' State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Circuit-Controlling Devices, of which the following 1s a speen i, ication.

This invention relates to electric circuit controlling devices. p

"More particularly, the, invention relates to circuit controlling devices such as are usedin conjunction f' with signs which embody electric lamps; the device serving tor the purpose of selectively lightingany one, or any combination or group of said lamps.

The present types of devices characterized essentially include conducting members which are adapted to engage contacts for the lighting operation, but said conducting members are stamped and formed from a single piece of material to dene relatively fixed ycontact points. There are as many as a hundred or more vof these conducting members used for the lighting of some signs, and when a change of lighting of the lamps is desired, it is necessary to remove certain of the conducting members, and to put in their places specially made members to obtain the desired result.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to obviate the making of extra and special conducting members to take the places of other of such members which lack the feature of interchangeability, by employing an element as a part of the device which is capable of being converted1 orrin other words, by employing an element which embodies a series of conductors and a series of insulators which are interchangeable so as to allow the change in the positions of the said conductors thus permitting a change in the lighting effect without the additional expense for new conducting members of the type hereinbefore referred to. With this and other objects in view, the invention resides in the particular provision and relative arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relative disposition of parts within the present invention and one manner in which the electrical connections may be made.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the element forming the essential part of the invention, and illustrating thecorrelated conductors and insulators.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view to illustrate more clearly the relative disposi'- tion of the parts within the present invention.

The device ot the present invention is ca pable of a wide range of use. It is therefore to be understood that the present showing should in no way limit the invention, but on the contrary, it is to be put kto any and all uses, and changes and alterations wit-hin the scope ot the claims hereunto appended may be resorted to whenever it` is found necessary or desirable.

In the present application of thev invention, it will be manifest that, there has been shown an electric circuit 10 which includes lamps 11 and a source of electrical energy f1.2, The circuit 10 also includes a circuit making and breaking means 13. The said means 13 includes a series of contacts 14 which are held relatively fixed tor a base 15,. The contacts passingl therethrough and are held. vfixed therein through the medium of nuts as clearly shownr in Figure 3 of the drawings. The contacts 1li are eleftricaily connected to the lamps 11. A lead wire 16 runs from each contact 14 to one pole of its respective lamp. The other pole of each lamp is electrically connected by a lead wire 17 to the source oi electrical energy 12. The said means 13 also includes an element`18.

The element 18 includes a drum or the like 19 which is secured to a rotatable shaft 2O oi conducting material. A conducting member 2l is secured to the shaft 20. The member is of conducting material and is electrically connected to the shaft 20; Any number of such members 21 may be secured to the shaft 2()A the number' of course depends upon the number of lamps to be light ed and the rapidity with which each of the lamps is to be lighted. The member 21 has arranged thereon a predetermined number of parts some of which are conductors 22, and some of which are insulators 23. A predetermined number of conductors 22 and insulators 23, collectively, are used so that the conductors desired to be used may be 'maintained temporarily in relatively tixed positions with respect to the contacts 14 which they are to engage Ifor carrying out the desired lighting effect.. The conductors 22 are identical, and. the insulators 23 are identical, and the conductors 22 are identical in construction to the insulators 23 and both are disk shape in formation and provided with circumi'erentially arranged channel shaped grooves. Collectively there are as many conductors 22 and insulators 25:3 as there are contacts 14. A contact 141 lies in the path of travel or" either a conductor 22 or an insulator 23 and is received in the groove thereof which acts as a guide therefor. It follows that every time a conductor .-2 engages its respective contact 14 the circuit will be closed through its respective lamp 11, whereas every time an insulator 23 engages its respective contact 14 there will be no closing of the circuit through its respective lamp. However, should it be desired to light this latter lamp it would lonly be necessary to substitute a conductor 22 for the particular insulator 23. The fact that the conductors 22'and the insulators 23 are of equal width, makes possible the interchanging of them thus allowing the conductors 22 to be distributed at random on the member 21 with proper respect to `the contacts 14C for the obtainment of the desired lightingeffect. Any number of conductors and insulators may be employed according as the member 21 is long or short. lVhere a change for the lighting of a particular lamp as just explained is to be effected under present day methods,l it would be necessary to provide a wholly new conducting member with the conducting points properly disposed, a. `factor requiring a comparatively large operating expense. Vithin the present invention lamps may be lighted selectively, successively singly, or in groups to produce a certain lighting elect, and such lighting effect may be changed by merely changing the relative positions of the oonductors and the insulators.

Clamp nuts or the like 24 are employed for securely clamping the conductors 22 and the insulators 23 in place on the member 21. rirms 25 connected to the member 21 are connected to the shaft 2() to set up electrical connection between the member 21 and the shaft 20. A lead wire 26 connects the shaft 20 with the battery 12. Any other manner may be employed for effecting the inclusion ot' the conducting member 21 in the electric circuit 10.

lVhat is claimed is:

A convertible circuit making and breaking device comprising a base, a plurality of contacts having one ot their ends passing through said base and held in Fixed parallelism therein, a movable part for simultaneous movement therewith, a plurality of insulators and conductors of like shape and size and each being provided with a circumferential channel shaped groove for receiving the free ends of the conductors and means for detachably securing the conductors and insulators in a manner whereby they are interchangeable for the purpose specified. v

In testimony whereof I hereby aix my signature.

EDWARD G. ACKER. 

